Fear of the 'big C' prevents women from getting screened

Early detection key to swift recovery

Almost 40 per cent of Ontario women aged 50 to 69 are either under-screened or never screened.

By:Jessica Wynne LockhartSpecial to the Star, Published on Tue Oct 01 2013

In Lynne Kett-Hiscoe’s packed agenda, scheduling a mammogram was just another item on her to-do list—one that was getting in the way of business.

It was right in the middle of tax season, and the 51-year-old was helping out at her husband’s accountancy firm.

“I wasn’t going to do it right away because it was busy season,” Kett-Hiscoe recalls. Her rationale for putting the examination off was simple: “We didn’t have cancer at all in our family.”

It didn’t matter. After getting the results of her first mammogram, Kett-Hiscoe learned she was one of the approximately 9,000 Ontario women diagnosed every year with breast cancer. A subsequent MRI revealed that the cancer—HER2-positive, a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer—had already spread into her lymph nodes. After an initial lumpectomy, Kett-Hiscoe had her breast removed and 13 lymph nodes harvested from under her left arm.

Although she lost her breast and had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatment, a mammogram saved Kett-Hiscoe’s life. Had it not been for the urging of her family doctor, she would have been one of the nearly 40 per cent of Ontario women aged 50 to 69, the age at which women are advised to get mammograms every two years, who are either under-screened or never screened.

This is why Kett-Hiscoe, who works as a peer support volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society, also chose to participate in the Women to Women ambassador program. Launching in October to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Women to Women program asks participants to share the message about breast cancer screening with 10 women in their lives.

“When you’ve put off (your mammogram) for so long because you’re afraid, it’s usually more work to eradicate cancer from your body,” says Kett-Hiscoe. “I think we all fear the big C. Everyone thinks it’s a death sentence—but it isn’t now. We have treatments and we’re getting there.”

Linda Wu also understands the importance of early screening and detection. When she was pregnant with her daughter in 1988, Wu was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Although she couldn’t be treated until after her daughter’s birth, Wu describes her treatment as “effortless,” which she credits to her early diagnosis.

“It really was a relatively pain-free resolution. When it’s diagnosed early, then we’re not looking at chemotherapy or other treatments that are very difficult for individuals to go through,” says Wu, now 61. “There are so many things we can’t see in the female body that are susceptible to cancer, so it’s important to have regular check-ups with your family doctor.”

Kett-Hiscoe is a testament to this. This week, she will be celebrating her 59th birthday—an age that she would have never lived to see had she not gone in for her first mammogram.

“I would not be talking to you today if I had not gone and got that mammogram at the time I did,” Kett-Hiscoe says. “If we can get every woman to start mammograms—even though it’s not in their family—every two years, we’re going to catch something and we’re going to save lives.”